Chapter 11

Chapter

Eleven

APOLLO

Never hit a woman. If my mother was still alive, she’d be livid with me for knocking Daphne out the way I did. Men do not abuse women. Not a pop to the face or anything that could mar a beautiful smile with bruises or blood. That’s not to say the men in my family didn’t discipline and punish when deserved, and we all have wicked ways of doing such acts. But we do not physically harm an innocent female in an act of uncontrolled violence. I don’t know all the ins and outs of the relationship my brother had with Daphne, but I can safely say he never beat her. The Godwin family has rules, and not beating a woman is one of them. My father has always been a ruthless son of a bitch. He goddamn tortured my mother at times…mentally. Not to mention what he did to his children. But never did he beat my mother. Never would he slap her face or punch her in a fit of rage. And yes… He was a man who raged.

I will have to ask for forgiveness later to the Godwin ancestors who still haunt us to this day. But I didn’t have a choice. I know Daphne would not go quietly. I saw her cagey eyes darting around as she tried to come up with an escape plan, and now was not the time to quiet her screams or deal with her nails clawing at my face. Though the Godwins are connected deep in the hotel world, we don’t own this one, and the less of a scene, the better. There is plenty of time for Daphne’s fear and acting out in the privacy of Olympus Manor.

Catching Daphne’s limp body in my arms, I cradle her close to my chest, trying to ignore the wafting aroma of lavender coming from her long chestnut hair. I also try not to pay attention to the smoothness of her bare legs I have scooped over my arm—flesh to flesh.

I want to be mad. I want to stay mad.

Anger will keep me focused. Remembering this woman laying in my arms tried to destroy my brother, and pulled me into it, and our family… Yes, I need to remain angry. I was going to spend the rest of my life behind bars because of her. She betrayed our family, and she nearly destroyed any chance I had of freedom. She wanted to bring Apollo down, and for that she must be punished.

Her small frame makes it easy for me to walk toward the door. As I exit the hotel room, my men are waiting outside in the hallway. I can hand Daphne off to any of them, but I like the warmth of her body against mine. I should never admit this, but I will not give up this small pleasure. I will handle my brother’s wife—now my wife—myself. Plus, it makes sense I would carry my wife and not want another man to touch her.

“Is the helicopter ready?” I ask as I walk down the emergency stairs, paying close attention that Daphne’s head or feet don’t hit the railing or wall.

“Yeah,” Johnny—a man who’s loyally worked for my family for over a decade—says as he follows close behind with his gun ready just in case. “We’re good. The car’s in the alley waiting to take you there.”

I pick up my pace when Daphne stirs. A soft groan escapes her pouty lips, and her long eyelashes flutter. I have a sleeping beauty in my arms who is about to become a screaming banshee if I don’t act quickly. I don’t want to knock her out again, but I also don’t want to deal with a hysterical woman fighting for her life. She needs to be in the car before she awakens.

When I reach the town car, I position Daphne’s lifeless body into the backseat as gently as I can. She’s already going to wake up with a nice size goose egg on the back of her head, and I have no intention of adding anymore bruises and cuts to her body if I can help it. I rush to the other side of the car and crawl into the backseat next to her. Without giving much thought, I lift her head and position it on my lap. Banging on the soundproof glass that separates me from the driver, I signal it’s time to leave.

Daphne groans again and moves her head from side to side. I instantly regret the placement of her head as the side of her face brushes up against the tip of my cock. I don’t want her to have any control over my mind or body. The last thing I need is to muddy the waters?—

But fuck!

Her face touches it again, and my cock has a mind of its own as it hardens and tents my slacks like I’m some horny teenager.

I stare out the window and think of the task at hand. Focus, focus. I will not look down at her angelic face, her luscious lips, or the way her silken hair cascades around my thigh. I will not look at her black, lace panties that are on full display since her dress bunched up when I placed her in the back seat. I will not picture my cock plunged into that pussy of hers which only hides behind a thin piece of fabric.

Fuck it…

Yes, I will.

I can’t help but imagine how tight her tiny little hole will feel milking my?—

Like a bolt of lightning, Daphne opens her eyes and sits up. Cowering to the door with wild eyes, she puts out her hands to block an attack that isn’t coming.

“Stay away from me!” she screams. “Don’t hurt me.”

Yes, this is the reaction I’m expecting. Luckily, we are already in the car heading to Heathens Hollow, and there is no one to hear her cries.

“Calm down,” I say as I reposition my throbbing cock so it isn’t so obvious how hard it still is.

Her eyes dart around the car and at the passing scenery. “Where are you taking me? What are you doing?” The high-pitch sound of her voice and the way her chest heaves with every syllable, I can see that she isn’t following my command and is anything but calm.

“Panicking right now will not help your situation.”

She reaches for the door handle and quickly finds it to be locked from the outside. I can’t help but grin, imagining the woman jumping out of a moving vehicle in nothing but a black dress, panties, and running barefoot on the rain-soaked streets of Seattle. I’m seeing just how much of a spitfire my brother married, and I can’t say I blame him for it. There’s a lot of courage and spunk in that tiny frame of hers. Hell, she had the guts to try to decimate a Godwin by betraying him. Not even our bravest opponents would be so bold.

Like a caged animal, she presses her body further against the door—if that’s even possible—as she stares at me with wide eyes and a trembling lip. She reaches for the back of her head and rubs. “You knocked me out. You hit me,” she says .

“If there was another way, I wouldn’t have. The last thing we need is a scene in the hotel lobby. I knew you wouldn’t leave with me quietly.”

“Do you blame me?” She glances outside again. “Are you taking me home?”

I don’t answer her. I know she’s afraid, but that is exactly what I need right now. Fear gives me power, and Daphne Godwin needs to truly understand how powerful I am. If I could truly be me—Ares Godwin—she would piss herself and beg for mercy, knowing just how terrifying I am. But right now, I’m Apollo in her eyes, and because it was so easy for her to betray my brother… she clearly isn’t afraid of Apollo. At least not yet. Yet…

“Are you taking me to your father?”

She’ll learn she should fear me rather than my father.

“Please,” she says as her body shivers. She doesn’t cry, which I admire. I figured she wouldn’t break easily, and she isn’t letting me down on my assumption. I knew she would be a worthy opponent. “You don’t have to do this. It’s not too late to let me go. I’ll just leave. I’ll go be with my sister. I won’t ask for anything in the divorce. Just let me go and we can act like this marriage never happened. That’s all I ever wanted. I just wanted out.”

I still don’t say a thing but stare out the window instead. My brother wouldn’t marry a woman who lacked intelligence. From the little I know, Daphne is not a woman to underestimate. I know if I’m not careful, it’s likely she will read my face. She may pick up on the turmoil of thoughts and emotions raging inside of me. I will not give her any weapon to use against me if I can help it. She may have been a fierce opponent with my brother, but she’s not a match for me, and by the time I’m done with her tonight she’ll know it.

“Listen, motherfucker!” she shouts as she pummels me with her fists. “Stop this car immediately!”

And there it is.

The reaction I had truly expected.

Daphne Godwin is no wilting flower. This is the spunk I’ve prepared for, and I already have a plan for just how I am going to handle this pistol.

It doesn’t take much effort to snatch both of her hands together while glaring directly into her eyes.

“No,” I state sternly.

“Fuck you,” she spits .

Her eyes dilate and flare with rage as she glares back, but I can still see a twinkle of fear in them. I have tortured and killed enough to know exactly what the look of fear is, and Daphne possesses it even though she’s doing a hell of a job attempting to conceal it from me by her aggressive bravado.

“I don’t know what you’re planning on doing. Or what your father wants, but I’m your wife. It might mean nothing now, but I still believe it did at one time. I’m your wife, Apollo. Your wife .” She struggles to free her hands from my hold.

“Exactly. You are my wife. My wife . So explain to me why there is footage of you filming me kill that man. And tell me why you would go to the authorities. And tell me why you wanted to see me spend the rest of my life behind bars. Are those the actions of a wife?”

My question is accusatory. I already know the answer. I already know Daphne’s goal was to bring down my brother in the most vindictive of ways. It backfired on her when I took the blame for him, but she had no way of knowing just how strong our brotherly connection was and that there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for Apollo and the Godwin family.

“And tell me how you could live with yourself knowing they were going to lock Ares in jail for the rest of his life for what you did. They could have even asked for the death penalty.”

“I told you. I didn’t know Ares would get pulled into it. I was only lashing out at you. Just you.”

I nod. “Yes… The actions of my wife .”

It was hard talking about my brother, and it was even harder talking about me in the past tense and saying my name as if it wasn’t me. I need to regain control. I need to feel anger rather than turmoil. The upper hand needs to be taken back by me, and I know how to do it.

I faintly remember her sister at Apollo and her wedding. I’m pretty sure Daphne’s close to her, so I take a risk by using the most effective weapon of all—family.

“So maybe I should make your sister pay like you tried to do to my brother,” I say. “Maybe your sister should be the sacrifice for your crimes.”

She freezes.

I know mentioning her sister is playing dirty, but the truth of the matter is I can annihilate everything important to her if I choose. She needs to realize this and tread lightly. Woman or not, wife of my brother or not, my mercy only goes so far .

I release her wrists and turn my head to stare out the window again. I gave her enough to stew on to keep her behaved. Bringing up the demise of the family is usually enough to shut up?—

“You son of a bitch,” she screams as she punches me square in the jaw.

I didn’t see that coming.

“You leave my sister out of this! Do you hear me?” Daphne continues to punch me as I shake off the blinding stars from a powerful right hook. “Torture me. Kill me. Rape me. Dump my body in some shallow grave, but leave her the fuck out of your sick madness!”

Snatching her wrists again, I struggle with her attacking body. “I’m giving you to the count of three to stop. One,” I snarl. “Two,” I continue as her body yanks and gyrates around in a futile combat. “Three,” I say as I flip her body over my lap, pinning her down with the weight of my legs on top of hers to prevent her from kicking. I’ve never tortured or killed a woman. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t tormented them in other ways. Ways that may make Daphne wish I treated her like I treat the men who cross me instead.

“Let me go!” she screams over and over as I make sure there is no way she can break free from my hold. Daphne’s balled up fists are pinned behind her back with one of my hands, and her body lays rigidly over my knee.

“Bad, bad choice, my wife. Bad.”

Her dress is already halfway up her torso, exposing most of her stomach and all of her bottom half. Her panty-clad bottom is on full display, upturned on my knee as I press her down. She continues to demand her release, but I ignore her futile dictates.

“I’m about to show you what happens if you’re bad.”